Driving green

Gardening was not in our plans this weekend, but when my parents called to say they were digging out their landscaping IMMINENTLY to redo it, I had no choice but to make an impromptu trip to salvage some plants doomed to a slow death in the sun. This is one of the many times I am initially saddened at my lack of pickup truck ownership status, and then quickly gladdened when I realize that a vehicle allowing me to transport MORE plants would not actually make my life any easier – it would strand me, sweating in the sun, for additional hours as I struggled to get even more things transplanted.

I tucked plants into every available space in the Civic except the glovebox. I had a moment of panic when I saw a policecar and realized that there was no way I could OPEN the glovebox if I were to be pulled over and asked to show my registration. It was around that time that I also started to wonder about the legality of operating a vehicle with my head surrounded by a boxwood. At one point during my trip, a car of laughing college kids stopped beside me to ask WHY I had my car packed with trees. In my defense, they were not trees, but shrubbery. (My dad wants me to make that point clear for all Monty Python fans.)

Kyle was a trooper and helped dig 42 holes in the yard for me to plop things into. We still have half a garage packed with plants to get into the ground tomorrow. Never mind that I’ve run out of empty garden space. Never mind that the gardens I have are sorely neglected. But the bushes were perfect for the front of the house, where I’ve dug up, or will dig up, nearly everything in hope of a fresh start. The plants are tucking in well in the 2 beds I actually like. The rest might end up in a holding bed, not very flashy but keeping the plants happy until I can sort out a few problem spots in our yard. Thank goodness we made a big compost area yesterday on a whim! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Bethney,
You’d be less impressed if you actually *saw* my gardens. =) Which type of peony would you like? I have some with slightly lower-to-the-ground foliage and huge light pink flowers that generally bend to the ground, or slightly higher-standing foliage with somewhat smaller darker pink flowers that tend to be a little more upright. Or one of each perhaps? I have far, far too many peonies. Let me know your preference and I’ll mark them for you, because once they finish flowering I’m going to forget which is which.